


Love Language

by Yumi11



Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Developing Friendships, Disability, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, False Accusations, Fluff, Himchan needs a hug, Jung Daehyun/Kim Himchan friendship, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mild Language, Miscommunication, Past Character Death, Romance, Singing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tragedy, Unconventional use of sticky notes, but not really, happy ending I promise, kind of, lots of fluff, small mental breakdown, soo much angst, sticky notes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 22:43:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12022602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yumi11/pseuds/Yumi11
Summary: Jung Daehyun was your average boy attending a local performing arts university. Nearing the end of his senior year all Daehyun wanted to do was graduate with his degree, pay off his debts, and maybe go on to further pursue his singing career. It wasn't until that fateful day, after getting lost in an unfamiliar part of town, that Daehyun stumbled upon the one person that would change his life forever. In the midst of autumn colored leaves and thinning trees, he met the one person that would leave him questioning the very relationships he had come to form.It all started with five simple words.





	Love Language

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for clicking and reading! Enjoy!

"Daehyun! Hurry up we're already late!" Himchan hollered from across the school yard.

Daehyun hurried over, panting slightly as he did, dark brown hair slightly jostled from the light wind he created from running. He tried to ignore the stares he was getting from his fellow classmates, a majority of them girls, but he accidentally caught a few of them while they looked away blushing. Daehyun let a small sigh escape his lips. He knew he had a reputation around campus, but even he thought the amount of attention he received on a daily basis was ridiculous. He walked past the campus gates and as he did his eyes caught a glance at a poster advertising about the end of the year showcase. His eyes reviewed the dates of the preliminary round and the judging that would come from that.

Then came the actual showcase itself.

The showcase was really more like a campus wide talent show for the graduating seniors to show off what they had been working on all year. The school really made a big production out of it, but what set the show apart from other academic functions was the fact that talent agents and companies would be present and ready to snatch up any new talent they deemed respectable for their position. The generous prize money for those who placed was nice too. But to even get a chance at the prize money and to perform in the final show participating seniors had to pass a rigorous tryouts session to see if they could even make the cut. The stakes were high, but the rewards were great.

Daehyun let his eyes sweep over the poster for a second or two before taking off again with his current thoughts racing about school, the show, and what Himchan was gonna do to him when he found out why Daehyun was late again. It wasn’t like he could help it. It was easy for time to slip away from him when he was holed up in one of the university practice rooms. Besides he needed all the practice he could get especially when he was planning on participating in the showcase.

Daehyun loved to sing. Singing was his passion, his inspiration. He worked hard to get his voice to where it was. But singing could only get you so far and didn’t really help pay the bills. He was lucky he had a supportive family that allowed him to pursue his passion and let him apply to a performing arts school. He knew how easy it would have been for them to say no and insist he get a “real” degree at a “real” university. Amazingly when he’d applied to this school he really didn’t expect them to accept him considering he was applying to one of the top schools in the country for performing arts. So the day he received his letter of acceptance he spent a good hour reading and re-reading the contents to ensure he wasn’t just projecting his wishes onto the solid piece of paper.

But then he found out just how much it would cost to attend and he promptly gave up any hopes of being able to go acceptance be damned. However, it was at his parent’s insistence that he not give up his dreams and that they would find a way for him to go. Even if it meant that his parents had to take on longer shifts at the restaurant and he had to work two-part time jobs all while still taking out a loan from the government. Now nearing the end of his senior year with graduation right around the corner everything he had been working up to was coming to an end. Winning the showcase would not only help pay off his student loans, but it would help prove to both himself and his parents that the path he chose was the right one.

Tryouts were in less than two weeks.

This year the judges and student governing body decided that all entries must be based off one main theme. This year’s theme just happened to be “The feeling of love".

Hence the long hours practicing. Getting everything to be just right. It had to be perfect. It had to be.

But how in the world was Daehyun going to portray the feeling of love the way he wanted to? He was struggling more with the concept then he originally thought was possible. It wasn’t like he had a lack of love in his life. His family for one. His parents being the main contributors. And dare he even say it sometimes Himchan fell into that category.

It just- there was just something, something he was missing. No matter what he did it just never felt right.

Daehyun stumbled and caught himself before he could fall face first onto the concrete. He righted himself and gave his head a little shake, chastising himself a little for getting caught up in his head again. Someday his habit of letting his thoughts run amok was going to be the death of him or at least result in something of equal equivalence. He turned his head and caught the gaze of several girls standing by the campus gates. His mind automatically jumped to freshman if their wide eye stares and jumble of textbooks in their arms were any indication. Having been there himself Daehyun couldn’t help the smile and wave he gave them. It only resulted in some heavy blushing from their part and a hasty retreat.

Daehyun sighed and turned away. He saw Himchan not too far off ahead of him and started walking a little faster.

"Hyung!" Daehyun called as he approached the spot where Himchan was standing. He smiled and waved his hand over his head.

_Thwack!_

"Ow!" Daehyun cradled his now sore and slightly red arm against his body and shot Himchan a wounded look. "What was that for?"

Himchan just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"You should know because of you we've missed our bus and now we're going to have to walk," Himchan muttered a couple more complaints, but Daehyun chose to ignore those.

"Why were you so late anyways?” Himchan questioned. “You knew we had somewhere to go after classes. Wait-"

Himchan held up his hand to stop whatever Daehyun was going to say.

“Don’t even answer that. I don’t know why I ask anymore. You were in the practice rooms again, weren’t you?” Himchan sighed.

Daehyun dropped his arm and gave Himchan his best puppy dog pout.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "you know how I can get caught up in practicing. Besides the showcase is coming up and you know I still have so much to do-”

“Yeah yeah,” Himchan grumbled and waved a dismissive arm, but the gentle look in his eyes betrayed his thoughts. “just don’t forget that you have other duties too yeah? Like hang out with me for instance and now because of you were gonna have to walk. I hope you’re happy.”

With a huff and a shake of his head Himchan stalked on ahead leaving Daehyun to chuckle quietly at his friend’s complaints.

“But hyung,” Daehyun said as he quickly caught up. “you love me and besides who else is gonna go with you to whatever crazy new shop you’ve found now?”

He draped an arm over Himchan’s shoulders, which was slightly difficult considering the height difference, but that never stopped him before. Himchan only grumbled some more complaints under his breath that were too quiet for Daehyun to catch and maneuvered himself out from under Daehyun’s grasp. Daehyun chuckled and easily kept pace.

It was moments like these that made Daehyun appreciate having someone like Himchan to call friend.

To say his first couple years in university had been rather lonely would be an understatement and it wasn’t like Daehyun hadn’t tried to make friends. He really did. He put himself out there, went to school events, talked to his classmates, and yet through it all he hadn’t been able to find one lasting friend. Daehyun didn’t think he was a bad guy, but the kind of people he seemed to attract showed him otherwise. He lost count of how many times he thought he had made a friend only to find out they were only using him.

“It’s because you’re too gullible,” Himchan had stated to him one time. “You’ve got this look about you that makes it so easy for people to take advantage of.”

Daehyun remembered shooting a stern frown at his friend, but couldn’t help the small twinge of hurt to tug at his heart strings.

Himchan must have known because the look in his eyes softened and he lifted an arm to ruffle Daehyun’s hair. “But that just makes you all the more lovable and anybody that doesn’t see that doesn’t deserve to be your friend.”

Himchan had swept in in all his transfer student grandeur and practically glued himself to Daehyun’s side on his first day. It helped that they had similar classes, but Daehyun was weary to say the least. They had met almost two years ago and at the time Daehyun was still learning his lesson about trusting people too quickly, but at least he was more careful. But Himchan was persistent and eventually even Daehyun had to admit that no matter what he did the overgrown man-child, as he liked to call Himchan that in his head and sometimes to his actual face, wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“How is the project going anyways Dae?” Himchan asked.

Daehyun shrugged and pulled at the straps of his messenger bag. “It’s fine I guess,” he said quietly while turning his eyes towards the sidewalk.

Daehyun felt the nudge at his shoulder and could practically feel the eyebrow raising gaze Himchan was giving him. It caused him to unconsciously hunch his shoulders and walk faster. Unfortunalty, Himchan’s longer legs allowed him to keep pace just fine.

“Okay spill,” Himchan demanded. “you’ve been working on this thing for the better half of your senior year and even through the summer. I have put up with your fussing and writer’s block and late nights when you were struggling to even get a word down. I know how important this showcase is to you. Hence why I have been so gracious as to forgive you when you choose to work over hanging out with me.”

Daehyun snorted and fought down a smile. “Right,” he mumbled. “as if there’s anybody else who can handle your big ego.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Everything’s going fine. It really is!” Daehyun defended when he saw Himchan start to raise his eyebrow again. “It’s just- it feels like something’s missing that’s all. Like I have the idea. I have the words. But I’m just having a hard time getting it out there and putting everything together. No matter what I do nothing sounds right.”

Daehyun felt Himchan’s hand give his neck a small squeeze. The touch was gone as fast as it had come. Daehyun looked up to glance at his friend. As brash as Himchan could be his smile was reassuring.

“You’ll get it,” he said softly and Daehyun could only smile in response.

The next few moments were filled with a comfortable silence as they walked. Daehyun was once again caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed the loud almost clanging noise that came from behind him.

"OW!"

The loud noise made Daehyun jump and he turned to look for Himchan, only to find him smack dab in the middle of the cement sidewalk rubbing his forehead. A look of pain and annoyance was obvious in his features.

"How?" Daehyun asked as he struggled to keep his voice from wavering with laughter.

A large red mark was now starting to appear on top of the spot where Himchan was rubbing.

"Nothing," he muttered. "just ran into a pole."

"What?"

Himchan gave Daehyun an aggravated look. "I just ran into a pole okay? And now I'm going to have a huge bruise in the middle of my beautiful face."

Daehyun tried his hardest to stifle his laugh, but failed miserably. He had to clutch his stomach and wipe a few stray tears from his eyes from how hard he was laughing.

"Y-yah! Don't laugh at me! I'm a victim here!" Himchan wailed.

"Sure hyung," Daehyun said wiping his watery eyes. "a victim of what exactly?"

"Pole Abuse! I bet you this darn pole was put here just so I would run into it and damage my beautiful forehead."

He rubbed at his forehead tenderly.

"How could you not see it? It’s kind of obvious," Daehyun stated as he gestured to the lamp post.

"I told you it was put there just so it could hurt me!"

By this time Himchan had gotten up and was muttering angrily. The red spot was already starting to fade. Daehyun couldn’t help the chuckles that escaped his lips as he approached the angry male. Despite the glare Himchan shot him Daehyun placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly.

"Right, well the Himchan I know won’t be stopped in his tracks by one measly light pole,”

Himchan broke out into a smile. "Really now?”

“Nah, all it takes is one good poke to the side!”

Himchan yelped. His hands grabbing at air as Daehyun deftly maneuvered out of the way.

"Yah! Jung Daehyun!"

Daehyun didn’t even fight down the laugh as he ran up ahead leaving an annoyed and mildly bruised Himchan to run after him.

 

An hour later the two boys stood in front of what looked like a small bubble tea shop. The shop had a large sign that hung-over head that spelled out the words "Matoki Boba Shop" and it was decorated with pictures of cartoon bunnies. Although they certainly weren't the kind of bunnies Daehyun was used to seeing. Daehyun stared at the sign and tilted his head confusion.

"Where did you say we were going again?" he couldn’t help but question.

Himchan gave him his famous raised eyebrow look, but proceeded to explain anyways.

"If you had bothered to listen during our extremely long walk over here you would have heard me explaining. But since I love you so much I’ll explain it again. This is the new bubble tea shop that recently opened and it’s been getting rave reviews so far. So, I figured it was worth a visit from us.”

Daehyun fought the urge to roll his and instead blinked hard.

“So,” he began slowly. “the reason you dragged me out of practice and made me walk for almost an hour was for boba?”

"Yeah, basically," Himchan stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Daehyun's right eye twitched and he almost gave into the urge to smack the upside of Himchan’s head.

As if noticing Daehyun’s anger Himchan quickly held up both hands and yelled, "Wait! Wait! Before you start beating me at least give it a chance alright? I promise you it’ll be worth it."

Himchan even threw in his patented puppy dog eyes although those eyes lost their touch on Daehyun months ago.

With a rather loud sigh Daehyun deflated and threw up his hands.

"Fine,” he said. “but the bubble tea better be good and you're paying."

Daehyun shook his head and then proceeded to walk towards the shop muttering something along the lines of 'unbelievable'. Himchan smirked then proceeded to follow Daehyun inside. Inside the shop was just as strange as the outside. The walls of the shop seemed to be decorated with the same type of bunnies as they saw on the sign, but this time they were portrayed in what seemed to be a cartoon story. There was even a spaceship drawing and old man drawing that looked an awful lot like the man from the KFC chicken commercials. Daehyun just shook his head still muttering. Despite all the little stores and shops Himchan dragged him to he still couldn’t help but be thrown off sometimes at his friend’s interesting taste in cafes.

"Good Afternoon! Welcome to Matoki Bubble Tea! How may I help you?" A smooth and deep voice from the counter greeted them.

Himchan gave Daehyun a double raised eyebrow look, and boy wasn’t that something, then proceeded to make his way to the counter swaying his hips lightly as he did so.  
Then it clicked.

“Unbelievable,” Daehyun huffed and crossed his arms.

He saw Himchan sway his way over to the cashier and proceed to arch towards the counter-top. Daehyun sighed and sat down in one of the many colorful chairs. He pulled out his composition notebook and resigned himself to the fate that he wouldn’t be getting his bubble tea anytime soon.

 

"How in the world did I manage to get lost?"

A slightly frustrated Daehyun scratched at his head as he tried to recall his way back to the bubble tea shop he and Himchan were at earlier. It had been nearing an hour when he finally received his promised beverage and while it was actually really good there was only so much giggling and flirting he could take within a confined space. His tolerance was lowered even more when Himchan was the one doing the flirting. He was actually a very romantic person at heart, but even he had his limits. So, he told Himchan he was going for a short walk and that he would be back soon though he was sure it fell upon deaf ears.

"I need to remind myself never to follow Himchan anywhere again."

Daehyun mumbled quietly to himself while trying to figure out where exactly in the world he was. Sometimes going to a university out of town had its downsides especially when Daehyun didn’t really take it upon himself to explore the city around him. What can you expect? He was busy. Even more so now that tryouts for the showcase were approaching. With the limited time he had left it was nothing short of a miracle he hadn’t collapsed from the stress yet. Which was also why every minute counted. He needed to figure out the missing piece to his work. If not, he wouldn’t make it past the preliminary round than he could just kiss the prize money goodbye.

Daehyun’s thoughts raced as his mind went back to his project. He was so caught up again that he almost missed the slight raise in the sidewalk. He promptly caught himself before he could fall face first again. Unbeknownst to him he had come to a stop in front of a small park. Daehyun stopped his muttering and looked up.

His eyes widened.

Although the park was small, it looked beautiful nonetheless. The park had a little clearing littered with a couple tall maple trees scattered here and there. Fall was well underway and so the ground was covered with a layer of orange, red, and yellow. Daehyun took a step off the sidewalk and onto the grassy field. The fallen leaves crunched under his feet and as he got closer he could see that there were even a couple benches placed conveniently in the middle of the clearing.

"Huh," Daehyun breathed as his eyes gazed around in gentle wonder.

At this point in time a small breeze chose to make its way through the trees and Daehyun could faintly make out the rustling of leaves. A couple of stray leaves floated their way past him and he followed them with his eyes. The leaves landed on one of the little benches. Its bright color contrasting greatly with the dark oak.

It was then and there that Daehyun struggled to take a breath.

On that bench, along with the floating leaves was a young boy looking about the same age as himself. He had bright auburn colored hair that matched the colors of the park perfectly making it seem like he was part of the landscape. He was wearing a light V-neck sweater, dark blue skinny jeans, and a pair of well-worn black converses. As Daehyun continued to stare he caught a glimpse of warm, chocolate colored eyes. The boy also had two earphones in his ears and appeared to be writing in a small leather-bound journal. His head was swaying slightly to the beat of the song. 

Daehyun felt something in his heart stir and he still had yet to let out the original breath he took moments ago. Maybe it was from all the thoughts about love he had running about his head. Or maybe it was something about the park itself. Heck, maybe it was the boy. Daehyun could admit there seemed to be a fragile beauty in who he discovered that day. Then making a decision that Himchan would no doubt be proud of Daehyun started walking towards bench where the boy was seated. The leaves crunched lightly under the pressure of his feet. As he got closer left breathless at the thought of what he should do next. There was a brief moment of panic. Daehyun was worried he was going to scare the poor guys off as he all but collapsed onto the opposite end of the bench.

The boy continued to write in his notebook.

Gaining a little courage at making it this far the thought of talking to the boy seemed more and more appealing. Daehyun cautiously looked down and cleared his throat all the while keeping his eye on the young boy to see if he would notice and look up. But the boy didn't even seem to notice the leaves that fluttered around him, much less the extra person now in the seat next to him. He continued to write and nod in head slightly in the beat of the music he was listening to. Daehyun took a moment and swallowed heavily. He wiped his palms against the denim of his jeans. When had they gotten so sweaty? Then with a deep breath, he scooted an inch closer towards the other direction and tilted his head to the side.

"Nice day today?"

Daehyun cringed internally. The boy continued to write.

Not knowing whether to feel disappointed or relieved Daehyun sat there awkwardly. Whatever confidence he had left seemed to disappear after he uttered those three words. Slightly crushed, Daehyun sat there and fiddled with his fingers. Then suddenly he got an idea. As quickly and as silently as possible he pulled his school bag off his shoulder and proceeded to rummage through it looking for one specific object. Eventually, Daehyun pulled out a small grey spiral notebook, it was one he used often for doodling in when he was bored in class. He pretended to flip through the pages looking as if he was reading the text written there, when in reality the book was filled with nothing but random drawings and doodles. Biting his lower lip Daehyun closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and scooted an inch closer. He leaned in more this time around until he was only about an arm’s length away.

"Um...can I borrow your pen?"

No answer. So, he tried again this time plucking up the courage to wave a hand within the boy’s peripheral vision.

"Hey, can I borrow your pen?"

Startled, the boy looked up with wide eyes and gazed around him. His eyes finally landed on the dark-haired brunette sitting next to him. Daehyun caught the way his eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly and that a little extra color appeared on his cheeks. Daehyun fought back the grin and forced himself to take another breath.

"Your pen, can I borrow it?"

The boy just continued to stare at him, blinking with those large eyes of his. It took a couple moments for him to realize that Daehyun had said something and then he silently pointed to the earphones still located in his ears.

"Oh, your pen," Daehyun said softly.

He pointed to his pen and proceeded to make writing motions with his hand. The boy’s eyes widened in understanding. More color started to appear in the boy’s cheeks as he gave a small nod and handed over his pen. Daehyun quickly took it and scribbled down something irrelevant in his notebook. He handed the pen back with a nod of his head and a small smile. The boy flashed back a small smile of his own and turned back to continue writing in his notebook. Daehyun was just about to say something else when he was interrupted by the jarring noises of his cellphone. Daehyun hurriedly fished his phone out of his pocket and pressed the answer key without even glancing at the caller id. He regretted it immediately.

"JUNG DAEHYUN!"

Daehyun winced and practically tore the phone away from his ear as if burned. Himchan's voice still came out loud and clear. He swore Himchan’s voice could be heard throughout the park even though it was coming through the phone. It didn’t stop him from making a weary glance around. When his eyes landed on the boy beside him he didn’t seem fazed at the very loud, very male voice currently giving his speakers a run for his money.

“Where in the world are you?!” Himchan demanded.

"Hyung," Daehyun whispered. “calm down. I’m fine.”

Daehyun kept his voice low in hopes that Himchan would catch on and lower his voice. But he also didn’t want to risk further disturbing the fragile peace he had established mere moments ago.

"Don’t you tell me to calm down,” Himchan seethed. “It's been over an hour. Where in the world are you? I thought you were just going for a short walk! Do you know how worried I'm getting?"

Daehyun sighed.

"Don't worry, I'm fine,” he whispered. “Look, I'll call you back soon okay?"

"Hey, don't you dare hang up on me! Yah! Jung Dae-"

Daehyun quickly ended the call and turned off his phone. He wasn't taking anymore chances.

“I'm sorry about that," Daehyun started as he glanced back at the other only to find that he didn't even seem fazed by the conversation that just took place right next to him.  
While Daehyun wanted nothing more than to stay where he was he realized that it was only a matter of time before he had to go and suffer the wrath of a very put out Himchan. He didn’t want things to get ugly. He shuddered as he thought back to the last time he had hung up on Himchan mid-sentence. His gaze took another sweep of the park only to land back on the boy sitting next to him. In that moment, it was worth it.

“I have to go now, but is there any chance I can see you tomorrow?”

Daehyun mentally smacked himself. As if he didn’t give off enough creeper vibes. He and the boy hadn’t even talked, much less exchanged names. Why would he have any reason to ever see him again? Daehyun heaved a sigh and considered his options about crawling into a hole right then and there. His sigh must have caught the attention of the boy because the next thing Daehyun knew the boy was looking up from his journal and caught his gaze. The boy gave a slight tilt of his head and a small smile. Daehyun felt his breath get caught in his throat again. He had never experienced anything like this. So, he did the only thing he could think of.

Daehyun ran.

He blurted out a hasty goodbye and promptly strode up and out of the park. Daehyun didn't even glance back, but if he had he would have caught the look of confusion that appeared on the boy’s delicate features and the slight hint of sadness that flashed in his eyes. Once he was out of sight of the park, Daehyun stopped to catch his breath and calm his heartbeat. He couldn’t believe what he just did. What had come over him? Nonetheless, he couldn’t help the small smile that graced his lips as he thought about the boy again. The boy who seemed so fragile and mysterious with his headphones, his notebook, and his small smiles. Daehyun reached for his phone and braced himself for Himchan’s call, all the while keeping the mysterious auburn haired boy in the back of his mind.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my interpretation of a classic story molded and fitted into an alternate universe with the BAP members as the leading characters. Yay! I'll also post the link to my inspiration a little later as I don't want everything to be revealed right away, but if you caught the reference brownie points for you! *throws confetti* This is the first chapter of many more to come. I realize some of the tags may seem counterintuitive, but it's all for good reason I promise and there may be more tags added as the story progresses.
> 
> Also I know in reality that a typical college graduation is usually around June or at least that's when most of the students walk, but for the sake of this story and universe let's imagine that they actually occur around December and near the end of the year because really who wants to stick to the status quo right? And also I'm a sucker for an autumn backdrop so yay for alternate universes!
> 
> So sit back, relax, and please enjoy this story written solely from the depths of my fangirling mind and coffee- lots and lots of coffee.


End file.
